Tuesday, 29 May 2012

“LOVE YOUR ZOO” and “LOVE YOUR WILDLIFE PARK” 2012

LAUNCH OF “LOVE YOUR ZOO” AND “LOVE YOUR WILDLIFE PARK”:SEAVIEW WILDLIFE ENCOUNTER, ISLE OF WIGHTBRITAIN has plenty to celebrate this year with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics, but why not go wild and take advantage of one of the best attractions your country has to offer – Seaview Wildlife Encounter.The animals at Seaview WildlifeEncounter are inviting you to show them just how much they mean to you by visiting them during the second ever Love Your Wildlife Park campaign.The campaign which was launched last year by the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), will run from Saturday, May 26 to Sunday, June 10.Its aim is to encourage people to visit their local BIAZA zoos, aquariums and wildlife centres and not only have a fun day out, but also learn just how much they do for conservation, education and research. Seaview Wildlife Encounter have organised a “Love Your Zoo” Wildlife Quiz Trail especially for this celebratory week. This is in addition to the Park’s “V.I.P. Wildlife Encounters” – the closest, hands-on animal experiences on the Isle of Wight – see website for details: http://www.seaviewwildlife.com/summary/wildlife_encounters (pre-booking essential).Lorraine Adams, Director of Seaview Wildlife Encounter, said: “Love Your Wildlife Park” is a great chance to show our visitors a great day out while educating them about the important work we do. We hope as many people as possible will help support the campaign by visiting us.”More than 75 zoos, aquariums and wildlife centres across the UK and Ireland will be taking part and are planning a week of fun activities from showing off new exhibits, to animal encounters, trails and craft activities. For more information or to find out about special promotional offers on during the Love Your Zoo campaign visit www.loveyourzoo.co.uk.

BIAZA, British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums

BIAZA is a conservation education and scientific wildlife charity, which acts as the principal professional zoo body representing the responsible zoo and aquarium community in the UK. With 100 members, its role is to develop and spread best practice within the UK and international zoo community, combining lobbying and campaigning with the development of policy in collaboration with the government and scientific organisations. BIAZA members support around 700 projects every year by providing financial support in excess of £10 million and by supplying skills, staff and equipment for conservation programmes worldwide.

www.biaza.org.uk charity number: 24855310 Reasons Why You Should Love Your (BIAZA) Zoo/Aquarium/Wildlife Park1. More than 25 million people visit BIAZA’s member organisations every year – they are a great day out!2. More than 1,200,000 people come to BIAZA member organisations each year on an organised educational visit – visiting your local zoo is a fun way to learn about animals! 3. BIAZA members participate in about 500 research projects every year, many of these measuring behaviour with the aim of improving animal welfare – you are helping us learn about helping wildlife4. BIAZA members participate in about 700 conservation projects every year5. They contribute about £10m a year to field projects6. BIAZA members contribute about £645m to the national economy7. They create about 11,007 jobs8. By visiting zoos you are helping to safeguard the future of vulnerable, threatened and endangered species9. You can visit more than 2,000 different species of animal!10. By visiting your local zoo or aquarium you are doing a good thing by taking the time to appreciate our wildlife and hopefully being inspired to make a difference.